Nicholas had been furious when he had seen the bed made that way in Heidi's room. The first thought that had pa.s.sed through his mind that she had run away. Away, to follow the man and he wished he had killed the man to avoid so much of trouble. A human feet could carry only a certain amount of distance and with the rain that had poured down so heavily there was no way, one could get out of the forest.

Emotions had flooded in at the thought of her disappearing. He had searched for through the thicket of trees until he found her pocket watch which she might have dropped when she got into the cave. He had been frantic until he had found her and the last time these emotions had surfaced was when his mother died. Heidi looked at Nicholas, his emotions bare in front of her eyes. Anger, love, fear, sadness, she saw them all for more than a fleeting moment.

"I trust you...more than anyone whom I have placed my trust on but I fear for what is it come," Heidi spoke looking down to see Nicholas' shoes appear in front of her.

"I won't know if you don't tell me what is bothering you," she heard Nicholas speak.

"I have been meaning to tell you something for a very long time," Heidi began looking everywhere but him, "I am not whom you think I am. I am not the daughter of a Curtis," taking a deep breath she gathered all the courage she could muster and said, "I was a slave before the Curtis family took me in," unfortunately the thunder had to take place at the same time, echoing the sound across the vast forest.

Nicholas stood there looking at her seriously and she didn't know if he heard what she just said, she opened her mouth to speak but Nicholas startled her when he pulled her into his embrace.

"Are you alright with a slave?" she asked him anxiously.

"No, I am not. Let's head to the closest witch and see if we can unmark the bond I placed on you," he said and Heidi had to blink back the tears which threatened to spill out of her eyes which it did anyways, mingling with the drops of rain that fell on her face, "Was that what you were expecting me to say? Stupid girl," he chastised her with gentle voice, "Didn't I say it doesn't make a difference to me. You will still be the person I chose at the end of the day."

Heidi couldn't believe he had accepted her so easily. She stared at him with much more love than before and he didn't miss the adoration in her eyes.

"You seriously need to learn to listen to what I speak. Let's go back now," he said taking her hand in his and she quietly obliged without a word, following back to the mansion.

When both Nicholas and Heidi reached the mansion, both of them were soaked from the tips of their to their toes. Nicholas hadn't let go of Heidi's hand even after they had reached the mansion. Instead of taking her to her room or letting go of her hand, he took her to his room and made her sit on the chair. Nicholas gave her a dry towel so that she could rub her hairs and she did it awkwardly wondering if Nicholas was being careful by keeping her in his sights so that she wouldn't make another slip right under his nose.

Her clothes were wet and there was no way it would dry in few minutes. Getting up she turned around to only come face to face with a s.h.i.+rtless Nicholas. She was quick to look away as a blush made its way to her face.

"I should go change my clothes," she said about to go to the door but Nicholas caught her wrist in time.

"Spend the night with me," he spoke with no trace of humor in his eyes. Heidi opened her mouth but no voice came out of it. Her face turned red as he waited for her answer.

"Okay..." she finally replied to feel him pull her by her wrist towards him, he pushed the wet hair out of her face.

Very slowly he leaned forward, bending down to kiss her on her lips. What started as a small peck of kiss turned into a pa.s.sionate and a heated one when he pushed his tongue into her mouth to rub against it. One hand of his pressed on the small of her back while he let the other to entangle in her hair. Heidi felt the air slipping out of her body as Nicholas didn't let go of her mouth, to continue kissing her deeply. She felt him tug the back of her hair which only made her open her mouth wider to give him a better access to her mouth. By the time he pulled back, her vision tried getting back in order. He ran his finger over her full lips which looked swollen now.

Apart from the pitter-patter of the rain against the windows of the room, Heidi could hear her ragged breath from the aftermath of the kiss. The way Nicholas looked at her right now made her shy away. It was as if she was his whole universe and his eyes found nothing but her. She didn't know why she took a step back but when she did, he was quick to pull her back in his arms.

"Already backing away? I haven't even started anything," he whispered next to her ear with a chuckle. He seemed and felt different now, of course it was him but she had never experienced this s.e.xually attractive Nicholas trying to bait her into his den before.

"Are you afraid?" he ran a finger across the column of her neck, "Turn around for me, darling."

Skillful, experienced fingers pulled down the zipper at the back of her dress. Bringing both his hands to place it on either side of her shoulders, he pushed the dress out of the way which was hiding her pale skin beneath it. Heidi stopped breathing when the dress that she wore fell down on the ground and she stood with her back facing him with nothing but an undergarment that covered her bottoms which were also wet. She s.h.i.+vered when she felt Nicholas' lips on her back where the slave establishment mark was branded on to her skin.